Understanding differences

Hello everyone!

We recently got a 9 week old American bulldog from the SPCA. She is awesome and adorable but I find myself at a lack of understanding when I speak to some people.

I am reaching out to folks in this subreddit to better understand the differences of how folks act with dogs, specifically people who treat their dogs as human kids and not animals. I grew up in a family where dogs are very much regarded as animals. My grandparents had outdoor dogs who were only allowed in the kitchen and then the backyard where they had a house. My uncle has working dogs on his farm who also live outside and our sometimes allowed in their basement. All these dogs have appeared extremely happy and have been very well trained. This was my experience with dogs growing up.

So I was recently at a bbq with my newborn baby and there was a pregnant woman with a dog in a baby stroller. The dog had a fan and other fancy gadgets in the stroller. I’ve never seen this as was honestly confused… why does the dog need a stroller, are its legs broken? But its legs weren’t broken…

Another example was my friend came to visit with his dog. At this time we hadn’t got our pup yet but have three cats and a three month newborn. We asked him to leash his dog in the house and keep him in a play pen if he wasn’t able to watch him (the dog was 6 months old) and to not allow him on the couch. He was OFFENDED. I was confused as to me these seem like normal terms? Especially with a newborn baby and an animal. This person also has fake therapy papers for their dog and tries to take them everywhere (into restaurants) and than will flaunt the fake papers. To me it feels entitled but maybe I’m missing something because he calls himself the dogs mother… again confused since the dog is an animal.

Anyways looking to actually better understand people who seem to treat their dogs like human, so if someone can shed some insight. I have never owned a dog myself and love my puppy but very much regard her as a dog. Is that wrong?